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Updated through 2024NTEE Q · International, Foreign Affairs & National Security

International, Foreign Affairs & National Security nonprofitExecutive Director salaries

Based on 2,296 organizations from 2020 – 2024. Each org counted once at its most recent filing. Sourced directly from IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Median total compensation
$98,738
The median international, foreign affairs & national security executive director earns $98,738 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$47k
75th pct
$193k
90th pct
$328k
2,296 organizations · 2020 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $47k and $193k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $328k, roughly 3.3 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$328,191Top 10% of earners
75th$192,59025% earn more than this
50th · median$98,738The typical executive
25th$46,82425% earn less than this
10th$19,56810% of executives earn less than this
How pay is structured

How the package is built.

The typical pay structure across 757 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (33% of the 2,296 orgs in this slice). Each share is the average across orgs of the fraction of total comp that goes to this component, so the bar fills 100%.

$245,454
typical total · 2024
Median total compensation in the subset. The dollar amounts below show what each share works out to on a package this size.
85%
Base salary
85.3% of total
$209,372
Bonus & incentive
3.3% of total
$8,100
Retirement & deferred
3.4% of total
$8,345
Benefits
5.7% of total
$13,991
Other reportable
1.8% of total
$4,418
Shares are averaged across organizations, so they sum to ~100%. Dollar amounts are illustrative (share% of typical total) and don't reflect any specific org.
How this compares

The number in context.

Every row links to its own dedicated benchmark page.

Executive DirectorThis page
$98,738
CFO
$133,352
COO
$157,737
Development Director
$165,260

All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J

Geography

Pay varies by state.

New York pays $79,173 more than the median Executive Director compensation in international, foreign affairs & national security nationally.

Top-paying organizations

The ten highest-paid international, foreign affairs & national security Executive Directors by filing.

#OrganizationLocationTotal compensationFiling year
01Endeavor Global IncNew York, NY$2,074,2642023
02Council On Foreign Relations IncNew York, NY$1,504,0302023
03Ciee IncSouth Portland, ME$1,440,9482023
04National Defense Industrial AssociationArlington, VA$1,376,1782023
05American Israel Public Affairs CommitteeWashington, DC$1,367,5372023
06Birthright Israel FoundationNew York, NY$1,141,9082023
07CnfaWashington, DC$1,053,9082023
08Dkt International IncWashington, DC$1,024,7292024
09United States Fund For UnicefNew York, NY$929,0582023
10World Education Services IncNew York, NY$922,0912023

Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.

Compare your organization

What does a $X org pay?

Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median Executive Director compensation for international, foreign affairs & national security nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.

Your organization's revenue
~$6M
annual revenue
$0$10M$100M$1B+
Median Executive Director comp · $1M – $10M
$141,416
849 organizations in this band
Percentile range for your band
25th percentile$82,021
50th percentile$141,416
75th percentile$209,296